The Further Adventures of Uncle Sam

Can you believe this was up for an Oscar in 1970? Cocaine is a hell of a drug. [Cartoon Brew]

The Taxman Cometh

While many celebrate the legalization of cannabis in WACO (Washington and Colorado, collectively), the movement still faces significant hurdles—like the IRS and Section 280E of the Federal Tax Code. As Forbes explains,

American businesses pay tax on their net not their gross income and business expenses are as American as apple pie. But Section 280E of the tax code denies deductions for any business trafficking in controlled substances. This black letter rule to stop drug dealer tax deductions also covers medical marijuana since federal law still classifies it as a controlled substance.

Yet while s.280E is set in stone, the US Tax Court does allow for other deductions to be made in their stead. So, much like weed is technically illegal in the Netherlands but that law is generally not enforced, the US government may end up in a similar state of detente with legalized provinces. Either way, the real wrangling over cannabis legalization is just getting started. [Forbes]

Washington Law Enforcement Already in the Legalization Spirit—Plan to End Possession Prosecutions by December

Well that was quick. Just a day after the people of Washington voted to legalize cannabis, the state's prosecutors have already announced that they will no longer charge people with marijuana possession beginning December 6th. According to Ian Goodhew, deputy chief of staff for the King County Prosecuting Attorney, "we haven't figured out how we will handle all of those [pending] cases," but according to police, there won't be any more. "For us, the law has changed, and people can expect no enforcement for possession," said Sergeant Sean Whitcomb of the Seattle PD. [Stop the Drug War - Image: WilleeCole/Shutterstock]

New Tokyo Undo - Misaki Uwabo

How Will Legalization Disrupt Cannabis Startups?

The founders of Leafly sit down with Geekwire for an interesting discussion on how last night's election results could affect the burgeoning cannabis services market. Read the full interview at Geekwire.